A Voice in the Wilderness: God Bless America - fearless protector of Liberty and beacon of light for Planet Earth

A Voice in the Wilderness

As nightfall does not come at once, neither does oppression. In both instances, there's a twilight where everything remains seemingly unchanged, and it is in such twilight that we must be aware of change in the air, however slight, lest we become unwitting victims of the darkness. -- William O. Douglas

Friday, May 20, 2005

God Bless America - fearless protector of Liberty and beacon of light for Planet Earth

It aint me, it aint me no, I ain't no fortunate son, no
Creedence Clearwater Revival - Fortunate Son

Please take time today to read today's (5/20/05) New York Times Article about the brutal torture of two Afghan men who died at the hands of their American jailers. The article is self-expalnitory. Let me know what you think.

Ancient Greek Historian, Herodotus said, "Soft lands breed soft men" and I suppose the powers-that-be subscribe to that notion. However, it grieves me that our leadership who never spent any time in the belly of the beast called 'war,' and who even actively avoided being compelled to fight on the front lines can condone such brutality.

Musician Don Henley sang in The End of the Innocence, about the tragedy of young men going off to fight old men's wars but it seems even that has changed. Nowadays, chickenhawks call the shots from on high despite never having earned the right by placing their lives on the line to defend Liberty. America is now giving herself her own black eyes these days, thanks to her Fortunate sons who run this war with the sterility of a video game.

George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Paul Wolfowitz and Karl Rove never saw a day in battle and yet, so many people have died because of ther unending quest to make our Republic their Empire.

Courage! What makes a King out of a slave?
Courage! What makes the flag on the mast to wave?
Courage! What makes the elephant charge his tusk, in the misty mist or the dusky dusk?
What makes the muskrat guard his musk?
Courage! What makes the sphinx the seventh wonder?
Courage! What makes the dawn come up like thunder?
Courage! What makes the Hottentot so hot? What puts the "ape" in apricot?
What have they got that I ain't got?
All Four: Courage!
Lion: Then you can say that again!

"Courage" from Wizard of Oz

Note: registration may be neccessary to view the NY Times article but it costs you nothing
Here is the high-lighted link in case the one above does not work.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/20/international/asia/20abuse.html

4 Comments:

At Fri May 20, 12:21:00 PM MDT, laura k said...: Thanks for posting about this. Everyone should see what this war is costing. The men who were tortured - for the crime of being in the wrong place at the wrong time - lost their lives. Their tormentors lost their souls.
At Fri May 20, 02:02:00 PM MDT, The Voice said...: Thank you Laura,
I know we are not alone out here. I love the quote from back in the eighties, "The moral majority is neither."

We take back our country one person at a time - just the same way we lost them in the first place.

Be safe
J
At Fri May 20, 02:44:00 PM MDT, laura k said...: Thanks also for your very nice comment on my blog. I'll still be out there, fighting for the greater good.
At Wed May 25, 01:30:00 AM MDT, The Voice said...: Oh Dutch,

We both love our country. Dialogue such as this is healthy. It shows the strength of the country. Please read my other posts and you will come to see that we are far more similar than different. For instance, you know I was a police officer right? I have no compunction about taking another person's life and I am definitely not your garden-variety wimp - I am not an egg-head on steroids either. Neither defines me particularly well. However, remember, there are people who talk the talk and there are people who walk it. My major heartburn with Bush is what has happened a'la Karl Rove - that man is brilliant but so were many dark figures in history. You also know one of my degrees is in History right? So, my world view is shaped by what I have leaned in my studies. I also worked many years in hospitals with psych patients, elderly, and veterans. Those guys did their flag-waving overseas. They didn't expect other people to fight their battles. That is really an aside however because the point I am getting at is that I was slated to become a Physician (I also have a ‘hard-science degree) but as fate would have it, Life had other plans. I have no regrets over that because I still had a life dedicated to helping people in law enforcement. Suffice it to say, I am a very compassionate person but I hate bullies. I have spent my life tilting at windmills as it were. There is a certain price to be paid for being Quixotic, but one thing is for sure, I am not misguided. I am where I need to be. I love your blog and I love your Humanity - like a dear friend recently said to me, 'I'd rather you see me as a 'who' rather than as a 'what.' I certainly hope this does not mean I will lose your friendship. Like I said before, please read all of my posts and you will see that I am a patriot. I put my money where my mouth is and I would gladly die to protect you and your freedom. I love those soldiers; to me they are like my own brothers, sisters and children. It pains me to no end that they are out there dying. I have a duty to advocate for their rights because they are standing at death's door for me as I would be for them - as I was for them when they were here - as every police officer in this country has and will continue to do. I so appreciate your sense of humor and input, I would hate to lose you over this disagreement: you try to convince me and I will o the same. How might that work?